What is the question that the ultimate answer is ‘Just enjoy life’?

As for your statement, "life is to feel good in the present moment." This would a foundational premise. One of your purposes in life should be to feel good. Everything else gets built on this.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. 9 ¶ Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying life, In my opinion, it should be done at every moment. This is what everyone on earth is seeking/striving for. Also note that it is not done at the expense of others.

There are guidelines one may follow to get its maximum benefits.

Do enjoy life and your joy will spill into the lives of other.

I thought I finally had a short answer.

Here is an update to brian's question. Please note that I am explaining this from a biblical perspective.

To begin, what is joy? Here is a definition of it.

JOY, n. 1. The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune,the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits.

Joy is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good.

You asked, "I feel like the feelings of joy have to come first. Any other thoughts?"

For the feeling of joy to come, desire is launched first and expectation brings it in. You have a desire for something that becomes the object of your joy and expectation brings it home to you. Thus you have joy in your life.

If I'm not mistaken, joy is caused from the outside (in objects/circumstances you receive) but put in motion from the inside out (expectation of what is to be). (Desire is a catalyst to your joy. By catalyst I mean something that initiates or causes an important event or object to happen.)

Desire then is the cause and joy is its effect if pure unadulterated expectation is in the mix. This includes being doubtless in your expectation that you are going to get it. James 1:6-8 says, 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Another part of joy is having a pleasurable circumstance, example, it was a joyous occasion.

There are temporary joys as there are eternal joys.

The temporary ones have to do with this life and realm. The eternal ones have to do with the 'after life' and are described in scripture.

In the bible there are guidelines by that I mean any guide or indication of a future course of action, which in this case would lead to a personal state of joy.

To be more precise the guidelines are really commandments. We are ordered as followers of Jesus Christ to do these things so that our joy may be full. (The commandments are a good thing, if you understand them.)

The name of the game is to be joyous at all times. By you doing what has been ordered, you will achieve a joyous state. It is only when you do them (i.e. the commandments) that you will receive of the benefits. Be a doer of the word not a hearer only. Most 'Christians' are hearing only. That is why the 'church' is such in a big mess. Blessings are in the doing/action of it.

Consider James 1:22-25; 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The following are a few of the temporary (earthly) joys you may have and give to others.

As you fulfill these next actions or deeds you give joy to others and as the beneficiary receives it, they will give back to you of the same. Let me explain, when you do something for someone, example the giving of a gift, joy is experienced by the receiver (for he has received some thing), this in turn causes you to rejoice in the fact that the other is joyous. This is another type of personal joy.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Galations 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (When you do this for another, not only is there a sense of personal satisfaction for yourself, there is a creating of joy for your 'neighbor'. In time this will come back to you. The universal law states (Galations 6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (The forgiveness works both ways. On you and the recipient.)

Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Exhort 1. to urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently. 2. to give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings. Basically what is done on this site.) There is a feeling good to help someone, to advise, you are giving of yourself in a sense.

An example of something not to be desirous of. Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. (If you do these things, joy ceases to be.)

There are foolish joys, Proverbs 15:21 says, "Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly."

These are some of the precepts men ought to follows. These are some guidlines/commandments one may follow to get the maximum benefits out of life.

These are some of the eternal joys.

Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The joy of the believer waiting and expecting to get into the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 25:1-30 you have the parables of the 10 virgins and the parable of the talents. Jesus confirms these parables to be a likeness of what is to come. See Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Mt 7:21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The joy of knowing you have eternal life with God.

Revelation 21:3-5; 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Conclusion: Joy comes in different forms. You do something to receive it. What do you want? Go get it.

You want the maximum life has to offer? I'll summarize the bible in basically one thought. Matthew 22:37-40 ...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (The rest of the bible gets into the details of it.)

Forgive me for this book. I hope I was able to answer your question.

I think if we can live life mindfully and endeavour to stay in the present moment as much as possible, we will feel good and it is inevitable that there will be joy in everything we do.

I believe that its more than just joy because if we only focus on the joy we will interpret the unpleasant experience as being the opposite of joy. But if we understand the bigger picture, if we undertstand that nothing or no one can harm us or destroy us. If we understand the power that we have to create our own reality then we are not so easily shaken up by anything.

I dont know if its practical to say that we can have joy when we loose a job or a love one dies or have some other terrible experience. Grief and sorrow are a natural part of life and there are times when we have to allow ourselves to feel that. I guess it is possible to be so enlightened that you can bypass the grief but only few will be able to do that.

I think we need to find a way to bring together our spiritual consciousness and our physical reality so that there is always harmony between the two. Most of our life experiences is trying to get us there - to wake us up to this awareness.

damn and I thought the answer was 42. but I like your answer even better .... peace